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Grades
Fishmeal is not one product but a ladder of them — sorted by protein, freshness and the raw material behind both.
Grade names are trade conventions rather than law: what a contract calls "super prime" is a bundle of promises — high protein, tight freshness caps, whole anchoveta as raw material. The table below shows the standard rungs as they appear on South American specification sheets; exact numbers shift by seller and season.
| Grade | Crude protein | Fat max | Moisture max | Salt & sand max | Typical raw material |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Super prime | 68% | 10% | 10% | 4% | Fresh whole anchoveta |
| Prime | 67% | 10% | 10% | 5% | Fresh whole fish |
| Standard | 64–65% | 10% | 10% | 5% | Whole fish, mixed freshness |
| FAQ | Variable, lower | 10% | 10% | 5% | Mixed landings |
The premium rungs exist because young salmon and shrimp are fussy: growth and feed conversion respond measurably to protein density and freshness. FAQ — "Fair Average Quality" — is the commodity floor: what a mixed day's landings yield, protein drifting with the catch. Buyers of weaning pig and poultry feeds tolerate that spread; hatcheries do not.
Two numbers police freshness independent of protein: total volatile nitrogen and histamine. Premium lots cap TVN near 60 mg N/100 g; anything approaching 80 reads as spoiled raw material.[2] A super prime label with a slack TVN is not super prime for long — the marker moves faster than the protein does.
- EccoFeed — fishmeal grades specification sheet — www.eccofeed.com/product/fishmeal (accessed 2026-10-24)
- FAO GLOBFISH trade report (prime-grade 66–68% protein) — openknowledge.fao.org/bitstreams/0c9693ec-bc3c-402e-b079-d612ef07eccc/do (accessed 2026-10-24)
- Willer et al. 2022, Cambridge repository — www.repository.cam.ac.uk/bitstreams/7bea69d8-3ac5-4a8f-8d20-ae8dec60579e (accessed 2026-10-24)